With the beautiful New England sunshine and cool air, the children enjoyed playing outdoors. Hoda'ah is a feeling of appreciation and gratitude for the wonders of the world. Having a great time outside is an expression of blessing for God's natural creations, the trees, the people and the beauty that surrounds us.
Today was another fun packed, exciting, and Summery day here at TBSCC's summer camp! More new faces joined us on the playground and in the classrooms today for sun, fun, water play and games! The Adom Team welcomed two more friends into the classroom today and new project as well. Today in the Adom Classroom, our team started a large mural/painting project that will continue to be open and added too everyday! We have paint, glitter, feathers, tissue paper, and colored wood shaving to add to our project and hopefully we will find more fun items to add in the new few days! Also, a new toy in the classroom "Block Head" has been a popular attraction. This game involves balancing wood blocks on top of each other, and today Sam P. and Matthew took on the challenge and stacked ALL the blocks! It was another fantastic day, and look forward to what Thursday has in store!
The simple things in life are sometimes the most fun. Often, just tearing off the gift wrap and opening a box is the best part. And seriously, children can be entertained by something as simple as bubble wrap. So next time you’re stressed about finding the season’s must-have gift, remember that kids love anything that encourages their imagination. You can never be too old to play with bubble wrap.
Personally I can't stop until ever last bubble is popped. It must be the kid in me, but I even love the bubble wrap app on my iPhone. Yesterday we had fun with a big strip of bubble wrap that Ellen gave us.
Check out these videos to see how much fun we had popping them.
The simple things in life are sometimes the most fun. Often, just tearing off the gift wrap and opening a box is the best part. And seriously, children can be entertained by something as simple as bubble wrap. So next time you’re stressed about finding the season’s must-have gift, remember that kids love anything that encourages their imagination. You can never be too old to play with bubble wrap.
Personally I can't stop until ever last bubble is popped. It must be the kid in me, but I even love the bubble wrap app on my iPhone. Yesterday we had fun with a big strip of bubble wrap that Ellen gave us.
Check out these videos to see how much fun we had popping them.
Our Children’s Center Committee Meetings always begin with a D’var Torah (a talk on a topic relating to a section of the Torah.)
Children at Play!
This week we begin the book of Leviticus, and this book is sometimes known as the heart of the Torah. Leviticus is known as the heart of the Torah because of its placement at the center of the text and for its central locale in Sinai.
If Leviticus is at the heart of the Torah, what is at the heart of our Children’s Center? On the surface, we see our children, our families and our teachers, but these three can be described at the heart of any preschool.
As I searched for the deeper meaning of the heart of our Children’s Center I was drawn to the chapter we read in the book, Learning Together with Young Children called, “ Coach Children to Learn about Learning.” At our school the children learn through play. As the book clearly states, “The value of child-initiated play has been at the heart of early childhood education since the inception of our profession.” And, “When children are master players they become motivated and successful learners.”
I believe the heart of our Children’s Center is that here at Beth Shalom our children learn through play. To go one step further, as described in Chapter Five, it is extremely powerful to help children learn about their own learning. The authors of the book developed strategies to explore with the children how and what they are learning through play. The teachers’ role is to help children learn about their own learning, and the chapter describes many ways in which the teachers do this.
One example is having children assess their own learning. Teachers ask the children what is worth sharing, putting in a portfolio or hanging on a wall. By asking a question such as,“ which of these (your building, picture, etc.) shows us what you have been trying to figure out as you’ve played this week?” children understand how they are learning.
There are many more strategies that help children learn about learning while at play. Each is practiced by our teachers and children every day, making learning through play a central focus (THE HEART) of our Children’s Center.
"It's snowing!" Alison squealed with joy. But the snow wasn't coming from the sky, it was coming from her own hands. She scooped up handfuls, throwing it high into the sky, and laughing as it landed on her and her playmates, Jayden and Becca. Choruses of "weeee!" could be heard across the playground as more and more snow came falling through the air. For me it was a true pleasure to witness children finding such delight in the simple pleasures of nature. No toys, no special equipment, no instruction. Just 3 children, 3 pairs of warm mittens, and a whole lot of fresh snow.
Did you know that Matchbox cars were invented in 1952 as a gift from a father to his young daughter? It's easy to understand why almost 60 years later they remain a favorite. The satisfying weight, the detailed features, and the size make them a hit at school day after day. Today Matty was perched on the floor with a pile of cars, carefully arranging them into the class four-year-old format- a side by side line. He counted and recounted, making sure all the cars were there and properly arranged. Little did he know that as he played he was developing one to one correspondence, the skill of being able to count objects, which is not as easy as it might appear.
Sand is naturally intriguing to children. Digging, sifting, building, pouring, pretening, and just feeling and smelling it can mean hours of exploration. Sand is one of the most versitle and imaginative children's toys around. Sand is completely open ended. There is no right way to use it. At TBSCC we build large blocks of time for open ended exploration into our schedules. At first, children get to know the materials, then as the play continues, they become more deeply involved and begin to develop skills they can later apply to new situations. This extended play time allows a practice time during which the child develops useful physical, cognitive, and social skills in an environment where mistakes and errors are inconsequential. Those skills are then available to the child as a resource for future use.
At age two this group play around the sand table is an ideal parallel play experience. The children are close together, so have to negotiate the sharing of space and materials. Yet the table also provides a structure, giving them each their own work area. As they are ready for more interactive play, the sand table becomes a platform for problem solving, coopertation, and partner play.
We had a special guest in the Scientist class today. Unfortunately, Barbara was under the weather today so we had a former TBSCC parent, Liz Berkman, come into our class to help out. What fun we all had!!! Not only is Liz an expert with puzzles, but she is also a great story reader and awesome at play. Make sure to ask your children what they used to paint with this morning. I will give you a hint, it was not a paint brush!! Feel better soon Barbara!
So much of school is spent with children broken into groups by age. Life, however, is not. So it was a pleasure to see the mix of ages on the playground today. Dylan, who just turned three, was playing with five year old Naomi. "May I help you sir?" she asked as he drove by. She helped him negotiate his vehicle into the proper position and filled him up. The game went on and the two shared roles and took turns, free from age boundaries and deep in the world of imaginary play.
How does a child become friends with clay? Easy, familiar friends-the kind of friends who fling themselves into each others' arms when they meet, who sit close to each other, who speak without words. Over the past few days the Lunch Bunch children began building that sort of friendship with clay. We took out the table in the dramatic play center to make room and placed a big white tarp on the floor. In its center, we arranged a block of light gray clay. Some of the children met clay yesterday, others were formally introduced today. We said,"This afternoon we get to have another "play date" with the clay, with our whole bodies."
The children touched the clay with their feet and toes, introducing themselves to the clay and listening for the clay's response. We encouraged the them to be bold, to see if the clay can play games: "You might experiment with standing and/or jumping on the clay. It's strong and can hold you. See how it feels under your feet. Can you use your toes to explore the clay?"
One at a time each child climbed up onto the clay and jumped off,they dug their toes into the clay, they stomped and hopped all over the clay. Slowly the clay changed shape, offering a response to the children's play!
Nathaniel, Joshua R. and Samuel leaned into the clay with their whole bodies, pressing their hands into it. Sam thought, "I wonder if you can roll this clay into a big roll." The boys began to roll, push and fold the clay until it looked like a large flat piece of clay all rolled up!
The Lunch Bunch children began a beautiful friendship with clay this week, offering themselves to the clay with generosity and great affection, learning how it moves and changes shape and receives their offerings. Their friendship, born in exuberant physical play will deepen over the weeks ahead as the children and clay continue to encounter one another.
With the beautiful New England sunshine and cool air, the children enjoyed playing outdoors. Hoda'ah is a feeling of appreciation and gratitude for the wonders of the world. Having a great time outside is an expression of blessing for God's natural creations, the trees, the people and the beauty that surrounds us.
